The initial outbreak of the pandemic saw two conflicting patterns emerge when it comes to how consumers get their food needs met.
On the one hand, more people were cooking at home, exploring new recipes and learning new techniques. On the other, the rise of digital ordering for delivery increased consumers’ expectations of on-demand convenience. Consequently, companies that provide cooking solutions that enable quicker and simpler cooking can benefit from both of these trends.
Smart kitchen technology platform Fresco announced Thursday (April 21) that it has raised $20 million in a Series B funding round led by three international appliance brands. The company offers a system to bring smart technology to existing appliances from major brands, powering step-by-step guidance for consumers with smart recipes.
“We know that every kitchen has appliances from different brands,” said Fresco Co-Founder and CEO Ben Harris in a statement. “Now through this Fresco platform, our partners are forming alliances across the whole kitchen, enabling the promise of the smart kitchen. To our appliance partners, Fresco provides end-to-end solutions to make any appliance smart: firmware; IoT modules; cloud services; and apps that pull it all together. Combined with the Fresco app, our step-by-step smart recipes inspire and guide home cooks to perfect results.”
Research from PYMNTS’ June study “How Consumers Live in the ConnectedEconomy™,” which drew from a survey of more than 15,000 U.S. consumers, found that 34% use digital tools on a regular basis to perform a substantial portion of their activities as far as getting their food needs met.
Read more: How 73 Million Highly Connected Consumers Are Pioneering the Connected Economy
Additionally, those consumers who use digital tools to help get the food they need are disproportionately likely to be eCommerce-dependent, with 90% of those connected eaters reporting using digital technologies in their shopping routines.
Indeed, consumers overall are growing increasingly accustomed to having tech-enabled connected experiences in all their routines.
“Consumers are accustomed to shopping online, just having a very connected experience, and they kind of want that while they’re out too,” Tom Priore, CEO of Priority Technology Holdings, told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster in a January interview.
See more: Consumers Expect Digital Experiences Everywhere
Indeed, even companies that rely on consumers’ interest in home cooking are making changes to appeal to their increased demand for convenience, offering simpler recipes and adding prepared meals to their marketplaces.
“What meal kits were based on was this sense of convenience,” Julie Marchant-Houle, U.S. CEO of multinational meal kit company Marley Spoon, told PYMNTS in a January interview. “[Now], we’re seeing expansion into different meal occasions; we’re seeing a demand for ready-to-eat meals across the industry; we’re seeing even more and more brands looking to offer incremental items that could be added to the basket. So, I think convenience is a big theme that has it just continuing to accelerate.”
Read more: In 2022, Meal Kits Will Adapt to Be More Convenient
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